The first in a new cozy series about Bella who has moved from the city to the country where she opens up an antique store. Things take a turn though when a professor is murdered. Many think it is an accident but her friend John is not convinced and asks her to investigate.

I love cozies so I'm always looking for new series! I was excited for this one, but found it really slow. The way Bella was written just didn't let me connect with her early on, which made it harder to care about the mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Bella Winter. I loved the friendship dynamics that she has with Tom and the Jenkes! Bella has moved to a little village called Hope Eaton, Shropshire after leaving London. She owns an Antique Shop and has help from John Jenks as her assistant manager. Due to a boiler problem, her Mum arranges for Bella to say with Alexis and Howard Howard. The following morning as Bella goes about her working day, she discovers Professor Oliver Barton by the ruins of Raven Hall. The police become involved and start to investigate. However, Bella, the daughter of a police officer, is not satisfied in how the police are running their investigation, decides to do some sleuthing. All the sub plots tie up nicely leading to a surprising ending. I highly recommend this book.

Clare Chase offers a fun cozy mystery with “The Antique Store Detective.”

When Bella Winter discovers a dead body at the Raven Hill ruins — a history teacher whose body was found surrounded by holes in the ground and a metal detector — she digs into figuring out if he truly died in an accident, as the police believe, or was murdered.

With the help of her antiques store assistant, John, and his extended family, they search through clues of who might have had it out for Professor Oliver Barton, including four women he himself had targeted for their odd behaviors.

But when another person is found dead — presumably accidentally yet again — Bella and John work hard to sort through all the clues, believing there’s more than meets the eye.

Chase does a great job of creating a series of clues that keep circling around, leaving the reader guessing until the end. She also develops a quirky cast of characters readers will truly enjoy.

Fans of novels like Nita Prose’s “The Maid” and C.L. Miller’s “The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder” will love “The Antique Store Detective,” which is due out Aug. 7.

Five stars out of five.

Bookouture provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

The Antique STore Detective
by Clare Chase
Pub Date: August 7, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A delightful cozy mystery introducing your new favorite amateur sleuth. Fans of Fiona Leitch, Faith Martin and Agatha Christie will love The Antique Store Detective!
I had high expectations for this one, but unfortunately this one disappointed me.
The beginning of this book did such a great job at setting the scene, the antique shoppe, the apartment, the town, the manor. Even the characters were brilliantly laid out. Then about 22% of the way in the detecting began and clues and setup's and conversations all felt like they were only there to get to the next step and it all started to fall flat and unexciting for me.

The beginning of this book did such a great job at setting the scene, the antique shoppe, the apartment, the town, the manor. Even the characters were brilliantly laid out. Then about 22% of the way in the detecting began and clues and setup's and conversations all felt like they were only there to get to the next step for the MC and it all started to fall flat and unexciting for me.

The theme of this book was very "cozy Agatha Christie" and it did make me want a cup of coco and a fluffy blanket.

Bella is starting over! She has moved to a small English town to begin her antique business. She hires a young man who knows his antiques and his community. Bella's story begins when her furnace/boiler gives out. Her eccentric mom calls in a favor from a local poet and her husband. Bella has a beautiful place to stay while repairs are made. However, when Bella leaves to return home, she discovers the body of a local retired professor/archeologist. As the daughter of a deceased detective, she hno choice but to determine whether the death was a murder or an accident. Along the way of the story, the reader meets many characters who make up the unique town. At the end of the story, one can't help but wonder if there will be a little love interest with the fellow across the hall. He has a cat who takes an interest in Bella! Thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

I've enjoyed Clare's Eve Mallow series, so my expectations were high for this one - and they were met perfectly. Bella Winter owns an antiques shop in the village of Hope Eaton, working with her friend and assistant John. Oliver, one of her father's friends is found dead among the ruins at the local stately home; the local police think it's an accident, but Bella's dad was a detective and she thinks there's more to it than that, especially when John tells her that Oliver gave him a coin... When she investigates, she discovers that Oliver wasn't just a respected professor but a nighthawk with a huge collection of stolen antiquities - and there are several people with motives to want him dead. But the investigation places Bella in danger, too...

Lots of red herrings, clues deftly placed, and excellent characterisation - Bella's confident, full of curiosity and creative. Thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to the next in the series.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Loved the vintage vibe to this book, loved the stylish clothes of the main character Bella. Story flowed well if a little repetitive at times. A lot of characters to get your head around but I enjoyed it. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

Bella owns and runs an antique shop with her trusted assistant John. She becomes involved when an old friend of her late father is found dead at the site of some ruins. She is smart, quick thinking and tenacious all the qualities of a budding amateur detective. John is slow but methodical, the perfect team. I enjoyed reading this book, but felt it was a bit to long and in danger of becoming boring.

Bella Winter moves to Hope Eaton and opens a little antique store. When she finds Professor Oliver Barton dead at Raven Hall and decides that it’s murder and not an accident, she decides to investigate with her colleague John and friends. A fun cozy mystery.

Bella works with a group of colleagues and friends to get to the bottom of the death of a well-known archaeologist. Bella owns an antique and works closely with her employee, John Jenks, to research myriad suspects and motives. Bella is a likeable character - determined, creative with the truth, and inquisitive - the right person to investigate a mystery. John was a blank slate for me, but he makes a good foil for Bella. A good start to the series. Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great cozy mystery. Loved the characters. Bella is a bit headstrong at times, and John, her assistant, is very likable. The plot had a lot of depth, and took me a while to figure things out. Truly enjoyed and look forward to seeing whaat Belle gets up to next.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Antique Store Detective is a brilliant read! A quick but still enjoyable book! I highly recommend.

Hope Eaton is where Bella Winter's late dad was a police officer and, now she's quit her job at a London antique shop, where she now runs her own store, Vintage Winter. When a body is discovered near the ancestral home where she had spent the previous night Bella finds herself investigating just as her father would have.

To the surprise of some of those who knew the well respected victim it is revealed that they were a nighthawk, spending their nights digging for buried treasure to keep for themselves. With plenty of suspects and secrets to unravel Bella recruits her assistant at Vintage Winter and some of his family to help. After a second body is discovered the investigation becomes more urgent and dangerous. Can they solve the mystery or have they instead put themselves in the killer’s sights?

When an author whose work you love announces a new series it's exciting and a bit worrying at the same time. This was the case here as I love the Eve Mallow series but I think, given time, Bella will also become much loved. The storyline flows as easily as I'd expected and I'm really glad Bella is very different to Eve. She is confident, a little prickly at times, and happy to work alone or with help and I look forward to getting to know her better.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a great start to a new series and those who love Clare Chase's writing are once again in for a treat.

This reminded me of Garage Sale Mystery. I really liked the book. It was a good time. I would recommend if this is your vibe

I thought this was a good cozy mystery. It seems like a great book for any fan of mysteries. It had a bit of an Agatha Christie feel to it, which I enjoyed. Bella was a great main character; slightly flawed but caring. I also thought Bella and John worked really well together and were great counterparts. I did not think this was an obvious mystery where I knew the solution right away, which kept me interested throughout. All in all I did enjoy this book.